I thought about Terminals 2 and 3 of PHX Airport being replaced outright by a new terminal similar to the existing East Terminal (Barry M. Goldwater Terminal). The new terminal may have 10 to 12 satellite concourses (5 to 6 concourses each on the north and south). It may have to be developed in phases and possibly incorporate the existing Terminal 3.

The East Terminal currently has 7 existing satellite concourses, but has space for an eighth.

__________________I honestly think all development projects must be sustainable and futureproof.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (IATA: PHX, ICAO: KPHX, FAA LID: PHX) is a joint civil-military public airport located 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the central business district of the city of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport, and the largest commercial airport in the American Southwest.

In 2011, the airport served 40,591,948 passengers, making it the ninth busiest in the United States in terms of passengers and one of the top 15 busiest airports in the world with a 90 million dollar daily economic impact. On a daily basis the airport handles about 1,266 aircraft that arrive and depart, along with 111,210 passengers daily, and more than 828 tons of cargo handled. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records show the airport had 19,225,050 commercial passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2010 and 20,213,897 enplanements in 2011.

The airport is the primary regional hub and gateway for Mexican and Hawaiian departures for Tempe-based US Airways and is the third-largest focus city for Southwest Airlines. US Airways and Southwest are the airport's two largest carriers.

The airport has over 120 aircraft gates in three Terminals (2, 3, 4). The airport administration states that the designation Terminal 1 has been "retired", and that it did not wish to renumber the other terminals since passengers were already familiar with the numbers in place. Free wireless internet access is available in all terminals.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 has 9 gates (numbered unconsecutively 1-13 and two additional lettered gates C & D) and three parking slots. It was designed by the Phoenix architectural firm, Weaver & Drover and opened in 1962. This terminal includes a mural by French-American artist Paul Coze. In November 2006, a Military and Veterans Hospitality Room, sponsored by the Phoenix Military and Veterans Commission, was opened in Terminal 2.

Terminal 3

Terminal 3 opened in 1979 and has 17 gates, separated into two concourses by a central building outside of security. The south concourse houses gates 2–9 and the north concourse houses gates 15-26. Its only lounge - Delta's Crown Room Club - was closed on April 30, 2008.

Earlier this month, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport opened up what it says is the world’s first mass transit bridge over an active airport taxiway.

The new PHX Sky Train bridge is more than 100 feet tall and large enough for a Boeing 747 to pass underneath.

The first stage, scheduled for completion in early 2013, will carry passengers between METRO light rail, East Economy Parking and Sky Harbor’s busiest terminal, Terminal 4. The second stage will continue the line through the airport and to the Rental Car Center and is set for completion in 2020

This project included reconfiguration of the outbound baggage conveyour system at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to accommodate an in-line explosive detection system. In some areas special structural improvements was required to baggage conveyour systems.

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Beginning in early 2013, the PHX Sky Train™ will transport Airport visitors between the regional METRO light rail system, Sky Harbor’s East Economy Parking and Terminal 4, which serves 80 percent of the airport’s passengers. On Tuesday, the first PHX Sky Train™ car was unveiled at the PHX Sky Train Maintenance Facility.

Throughout 2012 Airport visitors will see the empty train cars being tested along the guide way. Train system operator, Bombardier began shipping the first 18 cars in August. They will be assembled into two and three-car trains. The driverless train will run on an electrically powered, center-rail guide-way. More than 6 million passengers are expected to ride it in the first year. It will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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This week marked a major milestone on the $1.5-billion PHX Sky Train project, as Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton sent Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport’s new automated train on its first official—albiet short—journey on Monday.

“Built during the worst economy since the Great Depression, this project has put a lot of people to work,” Stanton says, adding that 6,000 workers were employed during the first phase, and 2,000 are currently working on the second phase.

The Phoenix office of Hensel Phelps Construction built the first phase at a total project cost of $640 million. Monday’s brief two-minute demonstration test run began at the East Economy Parking train station, one of three stations built during that phase. The station cost $32 million to construct and contains 165 tons of structural steel and 3,375 cu yds of concrete.

Once the first section of track is operational in early 2013, up to 16,000 passengers a day are expected to board the trains operating every three to four minutes and travel between Terminal 4 (Sky Harbor’s busiest terminal) and the 44th Street METRO Light Rail Station, which connects to the regional light rail system.

While the East Economy Station won’t be air-conditioned, the Bombardier-manufactured trains will be. Airport officials tout the electrically powered, fully automated train system as one of the most advanced in the U.S., as well as one of the most sustainable. Stanton says the project is the first airport people mover in the U.S. to seek LEED certification.

Monday’s event kicks off several months of testing for the new train system. Technicians will initially be operating the trains in manual mode, to test the vehicle clearance on the guideway and in the stations, says Anne Kurtenbach, aviation program manager for Sky Harbor. “They will also be testing speed control, switches, power and onboard communications and control,” she adds. Vehicles will be tested individually, rather than in their final configuration in two- to three-car trains.

[...]

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I always wonder why they chose the location that they did. I guess its very convenient like a central train station, but it must cause so much noise pollution for the city. Imagine Heathrow located in Hyde Park haha

I always wonder why they chose the location that they did. I guess its very convenient like a central train station, but it must cause so much noise pollution for the city. Imagine Heathrow located in Hyde Park haha

When the airport was first being built in 1928, Phoenix was not nearly as large as it is today (the population of Phoenix back then was only 29,000), so the area surrounding the airport was not heavily developed until much later.

Anyways if you look at a satelite photo of the airport you can see the surrounding area being mostly occupied with light industrial uses (such as warehouses) rather than residential neighborhoods so noise polution is not that much of an issue compared with say either Chicago Midway, Washington-Reagan, Boston's Airport, San Diego's Airport, or Denver's former Stapleton Airport which were located much closer to residential neighborhoods and cause more noise polution problems than PHX.

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